Eagles Sink Clippers In Afternoon Thriller

For any team to play back to back games is hard enough, but doing so in under a 24 hour time period is mostly unheard of, but schedules have to be maintained.

Surrey would face Nanaimo who were also playing two games in as many nights, with one exception and that being that Surrey played at home the previous night, while the Clippers travelled from Wenatchee Wild the previous night arriving at the hotel about 3 AM.

With the Eagles all tucked in their beds that time of the night, getting rested for the afternoon matinee, hopes were to catch a tired, not rested Nanaimo team.

Sunday’s game was what the Eagles called “RETRO JERSEY NIGHT” that would see the first 250 fans get a retro jersey and they were lined up after 3 for a 4 pm game.

This game would see a few interesting situations take place, the first being that Jesse Nelson and Jordan Deyrmenjian were both called up as an AP from the Delta Ice Hawks (PJHL) and we would see Nanaimo’s new bench boss Darren Naylor behind the bench for his mainland debut in Surrey.

The other interesting note that was extremely worthwhile to mention was that this would be the first time that both “tenders” would play against in the BCHL.

Not that that is nothing new, but simply put Eagles Mario Cavaliere and Clippers Noah Featherstonhaugh Gowe played as a tandem last season in Ontario with the Burlington Cougars.

Mario played 39 games while Noah played 18, so for two individuals who were teammates last season, they never would have expected to be playing not only against each other, but also on Canada’s west coast.

I for one was thrilled to see this happen as sport has far too many situations that cause players to lose contact with each other, but this for me personally “extremely special” to not only watch but also call as a broadcaster.

Entering the game one would have expected to see the Eagles catch a “tired” Clipper squad, but that was only a myth with the Clippers hammering shot after shot at Cavaliere.

The first saw a scoreless affair with Nanaimo outshooting Surrey by a 14-10 tally that was not only entertaining, but one of the faster periods of hockey we have witnessed in some time.

This period belonged to both goalies as they were putting on a show to not only entertain, but let us know what they played like as a duo in Ontario last season.

The second started as fast as the first ended, but the Eagles used their speed on a breakout play from their end on the right side with Campese sliding one through traffic to the front of the crease.

Featherstonhaugh-Gowe was not only blocked out had no chance on making any stop with the puck sliding over to Brushett who tipped one in for the only goal of not only the second, but also the game.

Helpers on the play were to Campese and Sterzer who did all the dirty work in the zone making magic happen.

The second ended with the shots tied at 10 that saw Nanaimo leading in the shot department by a 24-10 margin after 40 minutes.

Try as they might the bodies were flying at both ends of the ice and the “tenders” were earning their paycheck on this night keeping all shots turned aside after three periods.

One would have expected to see a Clippers victory if not for Cavaliere as the Eagles were outshot 48-28, so it’s not hard to figure out who the stars in the game might be.

The game itself was relatively “tame” with each being stingy on the special team department as the Eagles were 0-4 while the Clippers were 0-5 through 60 minutes.

The highlight of the game came when the game was over and the teams were off the ice, but both goaltenders skated toward each other at centre ice and had a “moment to remember.”

The Eagles hit the road for a pair of games starting Friday January 26th in Trail followed by a Saturday game against Salmon Arm at the Shaw Centre with the face-off set for 7 pm.

The Eagles return home to the “Nest” February 1st to play host to the Express with the face off set for a 12 pm start.

Please mark down the start time on you calendar so as not to forget the special start time. Thanks to everyone who attended the “RETRO JERSEY NIGHT” and it was great to see such a crowd on hand for the “Skate With The Eagles”.”

Be sure to tune in and listen to the call of the Eagles game with myself and Greg as we head into the playoffs!